The elevated expression of α-SMA, a landmark protein of myofibroblasts, implies increased activation and proliferation of myofibroblasts in the kidney, which leads to excessive production and deposition of ECM and accelerates the progression of renal fibrosis (Chen et al., 2022b; Venugopal et al., 2022). The gene discussed is ACTA1; the disease is renal fibrosis.